Improvement in plows



BENJAMIN F., BAKER. Improvement in Plows.`

No. 126,865. Y Patemdmgay NITED STATES BENJAMIN F. BAKER., OF BALLSTON SPA, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN PLOWS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 126,865, dated May 21, 1872.

i provements in the construction and operation fof -the mould-boards of plows; and it consists in so hinging the mold-board to the standard or land-side as that the point may be raised V'above the surface of the ground when the plow isnotin use, for the purpose hereinafter -set forth. v It also consists in so constructing the hinged mold-board as that it may be used las a double-pointed reversible plow for plow- `-ing-on -hilli'sidesor elsewhere without having to turn the whole plow at the endof the furv lrow, as hereinafter more fully set forth. IheE second part'of my invention lrelates 'to improvements inthe construction and operation 'of the land-side of plows, and consists in providing the land-side with a foot or Vrunner on which the plow will stand erect and by means of which it may be readily transported from Aplace to place without injury to the point or cutting-edges of the hinged mold-board.

4The third part of my invention relates to improvements in the construction and operation of swivel plow-beams; and consists in constructing the upperportion of the standard with a supporting disk, upon which a corre-` sponding disk vsecured to the beam is made 'to revolve by means of a pivot-bolt passing through the disks, the` revolving disk being held in position by means of inwardly-projecting lips, formed on the standard, whereby the strain is removed from the pivot-bolt and a better support is given to the beam than can otherwise be obtained. The vfourth part of v my invention relates to improvements in devices for locking or securing the lswivel-beam in position and whereby the angle of the moldboard, with relation to the beam, may be adjusted laterally so as to turn a wider or narrower furrow, as desired; and lastly,.my invention consists in certain new and improved combination of devices in the construction of plows whereby the operation of plowing isV more vreadily and easily performed, all as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a side elevation of a plow having my improvements. Fig. 2 is a rear view of same. Fig.

'3 is a bottom-plan view of my improved plow,

surface of the stan-dard or land-side is turned outward from themold-board so as to form afoot or runner, B, on which the plow readily slides along the ground when the forward point of the mold-board is elevated. To the side of the standard A, and at right angles thereto, is secured a bracket, C, provided with roundedprojecting lugs c c, which form hingepivots for the mold-board D. This moldboardisso constructed and arranged in connection with the standard to which it is hinged, as to-form a double-pointed reversible plow, which can be worked back and forth as a right or left hand plow by turning the mold-board on its hinge and thereby raising and lowering either point in succession. The hin gin g of the mold-board to the standard is accomplished by passing the pivots c c of bracket C through loops or eyes d dformed on the back of the -mold-board.

I Vdo not confine myself to the use of this double-pointed reversible mold-board, as any form of mold-board may be hinged lor otherwise secured or attached to the standard or land-side in the manner described, so as to permit of the point being raised from the ground and the plow leftfree to travel on the land-sideV alone when being moved from place `to place; nor do I limit myself tothe use of the herein-described hinged double-pointed reversible mold-board, as applied to single plows7 as it may obviously be used with like facility and effect in the gangs of steam and other gang-plows which are made to travel back and forth without turning at the end of the furrow; and also, by reducing the reversible mold-board to proper size, it may be used in cultivators and other implements used for turning furrows and stirring the soil.

E represents a hinged brace or knucklejointed support for bracing the mold-board and land-side; it consists of two rods, e e', the inner ends of which are united by a hinge, F, the outer ends being loosely connected with, or shackled, one to the mold-board, the other to the land-side. When the reversible moldboard is used each end is provided with these hinged braces, as shown by Fig. 8 of the drawlng.

The operation of these particular hinged braces and the peculiar advantages arising from their use, will be more fully set forth hereinafter, and I greatly prefer their use; but as mere supports for the mold-board, it is evident their functions in this respect can be performed by a variety of equivalent devices, as by chains or linked rods passing from the rear end of the beam to the mold-board, or between the land-side and mold-board, or by a sliding bolt attached to the interior or inner side of the land-side, to be driven, by the operation of the foot, into a groove or socket formed ou the under side of the share or point of the mold-board; and in other ways which will readily suggest themselves to the skilled mechanic. I do not, therefore, limit myself to the use of the particular hinged brace, shown by the drawing.

G is the plow-beam, having handles g g secured toits rear end. H is a pivot-disk formed with an annular shoulder, h. This disk is secured to the under side of the beam, and rests on a corresponding disk, I, formed on the upper portion of the standard. A bolt, i, passes through these disks and the beam, the part passing through the beam and disk H being` rigidly secured thereto, while the part passing through the disk I forms the pivot on which the plow-beam revolves. The head of the bolt is beneath the disk I, and a nut, i', secures the bolt to the upper side of the beam. To relieve this pivot-bolt of the strain of the draft which would otherwise come mainly upon it, and thereby tend to impair its e'ectiveness as a pivot; the upper portion of the standard which forms the bed-plate J for the support of the beam has, in addition to the disk I, two projecting lips, k 7c, which fit onto the shoulders h of the disk H, and thereby relieve the pivotbolt of all strain. The plow-beam shown by the drawing is made of wood, but metal beams may be used if desired, in which case it is obvious that the beam and disk H may be castin one piece, and with or without the pivot, as desired. The bed-plateJ is also provided atboth ends with arc-shaped grooves K, pierced with one or more bolt-holes, as shown in Fig. 5, for the purpose of locking or securing the beam in the desired position, bymeans of abolt, L,which passes through the rear end of the beam and one or other ofthe holes in the bed-plate, as shown by Fig. 4. In this way the bolt L secures the beam in the desiredposition, thebolt bein gheld in place by means of a spring, M, secured to the upper side ofthe beam. When it isdesired to adjust or turn the beam around the bolt L is with drawn by means of a connecting-rod, N, which passes up to the plow-handles through staples secured to the rounds, as shown in Fig. '1. This is found to be a very convenient method of locking the swivel-beam; butI do not limit myself to the use of this device, as the same result can be prod uced by a number of equivalent devices; for instance, by bolts or other locking device passing through the disks of the pivot, or by ratchet and pawl operating on the edges of the disks, and by other means which will readily occur to those skilled in the art. By means of this locking device, or its equivalent, operating in connection with the pivoted plow-beam, I can readily adjust the plow so as to turn a wider or narrower furrow by simply locking the rear end of the beam in such position as that its forward end will be to the right or left of the plow-point, as clearly indicated bythe dotted lines of Fig. 5. The movement of the beam and hinged mold-board may also be rendered automatic in various ways-as by cams attached to the pivot and revolving with the beam, so as to throw the mold-board back and forth, as desired. Such devices for automatic movement I do not deem necessary for common plows, but applied to the gangs of steam and gang-plows, their use would be of great benet.

Having thus set forth the nature and object of my improvements in plows, and minutely described the same, I will now proceed to describe the operation of the double-pointed reversible plow exhibited by the drawing here with. The plow, being in the position shown by Fig. 1, is ready for operation-as a left-hand plow. On arriving at the end of the furrow the plowrnan, by means of the rod N, withdraws the locking-bolt L, and with his foot presses on the hinge F, so as to double up the hinged brace E and raise the opposite point of the hinged mold-board; he then directs the draft animal to the right or left, as most convenient, and, in turning, the plow-beam revolves until the bolt L engages with the opposite groove K, and, slipping into the hole formed for its reception, secures the beam in proper position for operation as a right-hand plow, the mold-board having been reversed by the plowmans foot drawingback the hinged brace on that side until the ends or knuckles of the rods c c come into contact to support the mold-board. It will thus be observedthat the whole operation of reversing the moldboard is accomplished through the agency of the drivers foot and the hinged braces E, and that in turning the beam it is only necessary to withdraw the bolt L and turn the draft animal around, the beam locking itself when it comes into proper position, unless it is desired being dragged along, (as customary and necessary withordinary p1ows,) and thereby wearing anddestroying the cuttin gfedges, it is only` necessaryfor` the plowman to press on and double up thc `knuckle-jointed brace and tilt.y the mold-board backward, when, as is'obvious,

theplow4 canbe dragged along in, an erect position,trave1ing on the :flat under side or runner B of theland-side without impairingthe efficiency of the` cutting-edges ofeithermoldboard `or landside, and with greater ease to both the `plowman and drafty animal.

. c y Claims. n What `Iv clailn as my inventiony is-f 1.-, A plow .having the mold-board hinged to the side ofthe standard or land-side, so that it can be tipped backward and forward, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as set forth.

2. The double-pointed reversible mold-board D, constructed and operated in the manner substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The movablebrace E, or its equivalent,

for supporting the hinged mold-board, in manner substantially as set forth.

4;. The combination of land-side or standard A, hinged mold-board D, and knuckle-jointed braces E, when constructed as described, and opcrated'in the manner and for the purposes substantially as set forth.`

V5. The pivot-disks H I and adjusting-plates K, operating in combination with the lockingbolt L, orequivalent device for the purpose of adjusting and securing the plow-beam, in manner substantially as set forth.

Witnesses A. MGGALLUM,

D. G. STUART. 

